Archive for March, 2016

Most mobile health apps developed by hospitals are failing to win over patients, according to a report by Accenture.

A new infographic by Digital Splash Media highlights the results from the Accenture report including details on app utilization and functionality.

Digital health, also referred to as ‘connected health,’ leverages technology to help identify, track and manage health problems and challenges faced by patients. Person-centric health management is slowly acknowledging the device-driven lives of patients and health plan members and incorporating these tools into care delivery and management efforts.

Healthcare decision-makers are not ready for the switch to value-based healthcare, according to a new infographic by Xerox.

The infographic highlights results from a recent Xerox study on the payor and provider perspective on value-based healthcare.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (BCBSNJ) has awarded $3 million to 51 specialty medical practices as part of a shared savings arrangement through the company’s Episodes of Care (EOC) program. The doctors, in five different specialty areas, earned the payments by achieving quality, cost efficiency and patient satisfaction goals in 2014 while treating more than 8,000 Horizon BCBSNJ members. As the largest commercial payor of Episodes of Care in the United States, Horizon BCBSNJ recently reported far lower hospital readmission rates and improved clinical outcomes for members in its EOC practices versus non-EOC practices in 2014.

When it comes to patient engagement, there are two sides to the story—the patient and provider viewpoints. Both groups welcome greater engagement and have diverse perspectives on progress and the path forward, according to a new infographic by CDW Healthcare.

The infographic examines each group’s perspective, including areas with contrasting views, roadblocks to engagement and the role of technology to increase engagement.

Transformational patient-centered models emerging post-ACA are designed to succeed with a core of engaged, activated patients, yet enlistment of individuals in chronic care management, telehealth and other health enhancement interventions continues to challenge the healthcare industry.

2015 Healthcare Benchmarks: Patient Engagement documents strategies, program components, successes and challenges of engaging patients and health plan members in self-care from 133 organizations responding to the 2015 Patient Engagement survey by the Healthcare Intelligence Network.

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When patients get lost, they don’t just end up late to their appointments. They also arrive (if they do arrive) stressed and anxious—possibly even angry. Late appointments can back up schedules, hinder necessary administrative processes and create costly inefficiencies, according to a new infographic by Phunware.

Digital health, also referred to as ‘connected health,’ leverages technology to help identify, track and manage health problems and challenges faced by patients. Person-centric health management is slowly acknowledging the device-driven lives of patients and health plan members and incorporating these tools into care delivery and management efforts.

As healthcare shifts its focus to improved care, healthier populations and reduced costs, accountable care organizations (ACOs) stand to make a lasting, positive impact on the United States healthcare system and healthcare organizations’ bottom lines, according to a new infographic by Greenway Health.

Participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) has helped ACOs earn shared savings—but what percentage of savings can you earn and what risk do you assume for participating? The infographic examines the features of each track of the MSSP program, including the Next Generation ACO Model.

With the nation’s leading accountable care organizations already testing the waters with CMS’ newest value-based reimbursement opportunity, the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model, healthcare organizations are evaluating how this new opportunity aligns with their value-based contracting strategy. With a looming application deadline for a 2017 start for the next round of Next Generation ACOs, the clock is ticking. And, with one approved Next Generation ACO, River Health ACO, already departing the program effective February 1st, the “Go-No Go” decision has become even more critical.

During Next Generation ACO: An Organizational Readiness Assessment, a 60-minute webinar on April 5, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, Healthcare Strategy Group’s Travis Ansel, senior manager of strategic services, and Walter Hankwitz, senior accountable care advisor, will provide a value-based, risk contract roadmap to determine organizational readiness for participation in the Next Generation ACO Model in particular and in risk-based contracts in general.

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Hospitals and integrated health delivery networks (IDNs) are continuing to invest in new technologies that support collaborative care across the continuum, according to 2013-2015 surveys conducted by HIMSS Analytics on behalf of Philips Healthcare, depicted in a new infographic by Philips.

The infographic examines the major goals of connected care and how these hospitals and IDNs are looking to cloud-based technology to tackle scalability and cost challenges.

Collaborative Health Systems (CHS), the largest sponsor of Medicare Shared Savings ACOs in the United States, manages 24 ACOs, nine of which generated savings of nearly $27 million in 2014. While data analytics and integration is one of the greatest challenges for most accountable care organizations, the capture, analysis and reporting of data is the key to ACO success in improving quality, reducing costs and generating savings.

UnitedHealthcare and Qualcomm Incorporated, through its wholly owned subsidiary Qualcomm Life, Inc., are collaborating on a new wellness program, UnitedHealthcare Motion™, that provides employees with wearable devices at no additional charge and enables them to earn up to $1,460 per year by meeting certain goals for the number of daily steps.

The device, examined in a new infographic by UnitedHealthcare, not only tracks the total number of steps, but also tabulates the total number, frequency and intensity of the steps taken, providing a more accurate and comprehensive summary of the user’s daily activity. Employees can earn Health Reimbursement Account credits that can total up to $1,460 per year, while employers can obtain premium savings based on program participants’ combined results.

Digital health, also referred to as ‘connected health,’ leverages technology to help identify, track and manage health problems and challenges faced by patients. Person-centric health management is slowly acknowledging the device-driven lives of patients and health plan members and incorporating these tools into care delivery and management efforts.

The CMS three-year Medicare Advantage (MA) Quality Bonus Payment (QBP) Demonstration paid Medicare Advantage organizations an estimated $10.96 billion under the QBP Demonstration, according to the final evaluation report of the demonstration.

The report indicated that across the QBP demonstration period (calendar year 2012 to 2014), average Star Ratings improved, more beneficiaries enrolled in higher rated plans, and more beneficiaries had access to higher rated plans.

The three-year MA QBP Demonstration, launched in 2012, extended quality bonus payments established in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 to additional plans based upon Star Ratings.

While there is no definitive way to attribute these changes (in whole or in part) to the QBP demonstration itself, CMS said, evaluation analyses do show that the demonstration did not stall or reverse trendsStar Rating and plan enrollment increases that began prior to the demonstration continued throughout the demonstration periodand, in fact, QBP demonstration payments appear associated with reductions in out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries.

The new Physician Quality Metric Consensus Set, released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), is a common set of quality measures from several current measurement sets. These sets were identified by healthcare systems participating in the federal Core Quality Measures Collaborative. Many healthcare providers are already collecting most of these measures, though there are modifications to several, according to a new infographic by Oliver Wyman.

While there is substantial overlap between the Consensus Set and existing STARS and QRS measure sets, providers also need to take heed that the next few years will be a time of flux for physicians as additional Consensus measures are developed and STARS and QRS migrate toward these. The infographic, researched by Oliver Wyman’s Health & Life Sciences Provider team, shows the degree of overlap between the proposed and current measure sets.

With more than a quarter-century of experience with value-based reimbursement models, Humana is ideally positioned to help physician practices navigate the transition from fee for service to fee for value. The payor’s multi-level Accountable Care Continuum rewards physician practices for care coordination of Medicare beneficiaries along the population health spectrum.

Healthcare organizations are recognizing the value of integrating medical device data for comprehensive and timely data analysis to drive informed clinical and operational decisions, according to an infographic by Capsule, a Qualcomm Life company.

The infographic highlights the power of a vendor-neutral medical device information system to go beyond sending data to an EMR by automating the capture and sorting of the voluminous amount of data gathered from medical devices. Then, through integration capabilities, specific data can be shared with other healthcare applications and systems for alarm notification, patient surveillance, clinical decision support, and even the management of the device assets themselves, helping to improve patient care.

As quality and value increasingly drive healthcare rewards, the generation, sharing and analysis of patient data is a prerequisite for organizations desiring to enhance clinical outcomes and drive down cost. Yet the burden of creating infrastructure to support health information management deters many payors and providers from fully engaging in a robust business intelligence strategy.

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